1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to on-premises paging systems. More particularly, and not by way of limitation, the present invention is directed to an on-premises paging system that utilizes pagers mounted at different locations on the premises, each pager having a data input device through which a customer identifier may be input to the pager.
2. Description of Related Art
Many restaurants use a service method in which customers order their food at a central service counter, and then select their own table where they sit and wait for their food to be prepared. The customers may give their names to a server at the central counter, or the server may give each customer a number that will be called when the customer""s food is ready. In either case, when the food is ready, a public address (PA) system is used to call out the name or number of the customer whose food is ready. The called customer then proceeds to the central counter and picks up his food. A disadvantage of the central service counter method is that many noisy PA system announcements must be made within the restaurant, thereby making the restaurant a less pleasant place to eat.
In other restaurants, customers must wait in a waiting area for a table to become available before they can sit down and order their food from a waitperson. Some of these restaurants utilize an on-premises paging system to alert waiting customers when their table is available. When the customer first arrives at the restaurant, he is given an on-premises pager by the receptionist who then enters the code number of the pager into the on-premises paging system. When the table is available, an on-premises paging transmitter pages the customer""s pager with the proper code number, and the customer is alerted. A disadvantage of this paging method is that customers sometimes leave the restaurant before their table is ready, and they take their assigned pager with them. The loss of such pagers can be very expensive to the restaurant.
Some restaurants using the central service counter method have also attempted to utilize on-premises pagers to alert customers when their food is ready rather than using the noisy PA system. While this approach has been successful at lowering the noise level, it still suffers from the disadvantage that expensive pagers are lost.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to have an on-premises paging system for restaurants with central service counters that eliminates the necessity to make noisy PA announcements, and also eliminates the loss of expensive pagers. The present invention provides such a system.
In one aspect, the present invention is directed to an on-premises restaurant paging system for paging a customer in a restaurant having a central service counter. At the central service counter, a data token is provided to the customer. The token includes an encoded customer identifier which the customer inputs into one of a plurality of paging receivers that are mounted in a plurality of locations in the restaurant. For example, a paging receiver may be mounted on each table. Each of the paging receivers includes a data input device for reading the customer identifier from the data token when the customer presents the data token to the data input device. The customer identifier is then stored in a database in the paging receiver. A programmable paging transmitter broadcasts a paging message in the restaurant that includes a broadcast customer identifier. The fixed paging receivers receive the broadcast paging message and extract the broadcast customer identifier. A processor in each paging receiver compares the broadcast customer identifier with the customer identifiers stored in its database. When a paging receiver finds a match, the paging receiver generates an alert signal to alert the customer.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to an on-premises pager that includes means for mounting the pager at a location in a business establishment; means for receiving a first identifier from a person to be alerted; and means for storing the first identifier received from the person. The pager also includes means for receiving from an external paging transmitter, a broadcast paging message that includes a second identifier; means for comparing the stored first identifier with the received second identifier; and means for generating an alerting signal for alerting the person when the first identifier matches the second identifier.
In yet another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of paging a customer with an on-premises paging system. The method includes the steps of providing the customer with a data token on which a customer identifier is encoded, and reading the customer""s customer identifier with a data input device at a particular one of a plurality of paging receivers mounted in one of a plurality of locations on the premises. The read customer identifier is then stored in a database in the particular paging receiver. This is followed by broadcasting to the plurality of paging receivers, a paging message that includes a broadcast customer identifier. Each of the paging receivers extracts the broadcast customer identifier from the paging message, and compares the broadcast customer identifier with the customer identifier stored in its database to determine whether there is a match. The particular paging receiver alerts the customer when the broadcast customer identifier matches the customer identifier stored in the database.